Recent FSU graduates earn scholar awards from Florida Trust for Historic Preservation
Four recent graduates from 糖心vlog鈥檚 have earned prestigious scholar awards from a statewide nonprofit focused on preserving Florida鈥檚 history.
Spring 2025 master鈥檚 graduates Hope Evans, Alessio Luna, Jacqueline Vanegas and Jacob Winton were each honored with the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation鈥檚 Historic Preservation Scholar Award, which recognizes outstanding current or recently graduated students for early career excellence in the field.
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, founded in 1978, promotes the protection of Florida鈥檚 heritage. The awards, which were presented at the trust鈥檚 Preservation on Main Street Conference in Fernandina Beach, Fla., were first presented in 2024. All recipients so far have hailed from FSU.
鈥淭hese students have done a remarkable job at becoming both scholars and community advocates,鈥 said Department of History Assistant Professor Kathleen Powers Conti, who nominated the students for the award. 鈥淚鈥檓 in awe of the tangible impact these students have made in their communities, and I鈥檓 excited to see their future accomplishments.鈥
Evans is a two-time FSU alumna who earned her bachelor鈥檚 in 2022 and her master鈥檚 in 2025, both in history. While attending FSU, she curated exhibits, guided museum tours and wrote a children鈥檚 book about Tallahassee鈥檚 historic sites for her role as an education director and curatorial assistant at the John Gilmore Riley Center & Museum for African American History and Culture. Earlier this year, she also received a fellowship from the Vernacular Architecture Forum for her research documenting Smitty鈥檚 Club, a Tallahassee hole-in-the-wall opened in 1951 to provide a safe place for Black locals during the Jim Crow South.
鈥淚n historic preservation, we protect the physical proof of a community鈥檚 history as well as its associated history and memories,鈥 Evans said. 鈥淧reserved resources showcase the many types of histories that make up a community, whether that鈥檚 locally or nationally.鈥
Evans currently works as a historic preservationist for the Florida Department of State, where she evaluates and nominates Florida鈥檚 historic sites for the National Register of Historic Places and reviews historic resource surveys.
While earning a bachelor鈥檚 in communication and historical rhetoric from Florida Gulf Coast University, Luna volunteered at Collier County Museums, prompting him to pursue the historical interest his father instilled in him through graduate studies. In 2023, Luna came to FSU to study history and became the compliance and outreach intern for the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation鈥檚 Easement and 11 to Save Grant Fund, which provides protection, awareness and resources to Florida properties, including the annual list of 11 historic sites deemed most endangered.
鈥淭his award is a reminder of the opportunities I鈥檝e had to help my community and state,鈥 said Luna, a history alumnus with a concentration in historical administration and public history. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a motivating factor, encouraging me to continue impacting the field.鈥
After graduating in May, Luna began working as an architectural historian in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he conducts research across Tennessee and Kentucky at historical and architecturally significant sites.
Vanegas completed a bachelor鈥檚 degree with a double major in political science and history at the University of Florida in 2023 before pursuing a master鈥檚 in history at FSU. Starting in 2024, she advocated for Florida鈥檚 natural resources as a research analyst for the 1000 Friends of Florida not-for-profit organization. Vanegas was recently hired as a preservation planner for the City of Boston, where she鈥檒l raise awareness about the benefits of the city鈥檚 historic resources, particularly focusing on the South End, Bay Village and St. Botolph areas.
鈥淎t 1000 Friends, I worked on outreach initiatives and facilitated public engagement with historic preservation efforts,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to guarantee that relevant structures and spaces are safeguarded across the state.鈥
Winton, who came to FSU in 2023 after earning a bachelor鈥檚 in American history from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, specializes in 20th-century U.S. Southern history. In 2024, he worked as a Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation research intern, where he assisted in identifying and documenting historic sites and created an application for the Tallahassee-Leon County Register of Historic Places for a local Episcopal Church, St. Michael & All Angels.
鈥淭his application has passed the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Commission and is awaiting approval from the city council before being added to the register,鈥 Winton said. 鈥淢y goal with all projects is to work alongside communities to ensure the stories of their local historic sites are told transparently through me, not by me.鈥
Winton now works as a graduate academic specialist in the to help students craft programs of study and assist in managing the international affairs graduate program.
To learn more about the historic preservation graduate program and research conducted in the Department of History, visit